Kabir is nine years old. He was born behind bars. His mother was put in jail for a crime she didn't commit. After she was imprisoned, she discovered she was pregnant. Prison is the only life Kabir has known.
They have always maintained hope that Kabir's father would find a way to pay for a lawyer so his mother's innocence could be proven. Kabir is still waiting and hoping, but it's more difficult every day.
Although he doesn't know what happens in the free world, he has gone to the jail's school and watched TV to learn quite a bit. He even speaks two languages. One day in the classroom, the teacher gives him the news that he is now too old to stay with his mother and will have to leave the jail. At first he is excited thinking that means his mother will finally be free, but he is told he alone will be turned over to an "uncle" he doesn't know while his mother stays locked up.
After a tearful goodbye, it doesn't take long for Kabir to figure out this "uncle" is no relative or friend of his. He makes a clever getaway with the help of a young girl. He learns her name is Rani and she lives in a tree with a pet parrot. Rani helps Kabir adjust to living outside the jail. A run-in with the police lands them at the police station where an officer promises to help them find a place to live.
BORN BEHIND BARS is set in India and focuses heavily on the caste system. Because Kabir and Rani are low-caste individuals, they have very few rights and no financial independence. Survival depends on intelligence and wit unless they are lucky enough to find people kind enough to help them.
Kabir's point of view makes this a fascinating read as he details first what it is like to live in prison, then on the streets, and finally with folks he can call family.
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